A Book By Its Cover
by Earthling
Summary: Apollo is stranded on a Cylon occupied planet with only a mysterious young woman to keep him company. Romance, intrigue! Come on, read it! And then tell me that you did!
1. Default Chapter

A Book By Its Cover

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Battlestar Galactica no mine...no money, no sue, please?

Lee turned a corner and stopped. People brushed past him, mostly ignoring him, though he knew that their minds were crawling with questions about what he was doing, and why. Lee tugged on the bottom of his uniform jacket, taking a deep breath and holding it in his chest for just a second before letting it back out again. He took a step forward, lifted his hand and let it fall. His heart skipped a beat at the sound of the familiar gruff voice answering "yeah." Lee pushed the door open and stepped into the Commander's chambers. Adama looked up from the papers sitting on his desk. Lee saw his disappointment, still burning bright in his eyes. Some people never saw emotion in this man's face, but Lee had always been able to see beyond the stable mask his father wore. He stood in front of the desk, his hands behind his back, unsure where to start.

"How're you feeling?" he asked. Adama did not take his eyes off of Lee, using the unblinking stare he was so good at.

"Better" was his answer. Lee nodded, once, and continued to stand in front of his father's desk, hoping that the other man would say something first, or that he could think of some excuse for being there. His father said nothing, however, and Lee couldn't think of anything to say beyond what he'd really come to talk about. The two men stared at each other, saying nothing. They were not the ones to do the talking in the family. The silence started to get to Lee. A nerve twitched in his jaw. He wondered if anybody ever noticed when that happened, or if it was invisible, something only he noticed.

"What is it Lee?" his father finally asked, returning his eyes to the surface of his desk and then back up again. Lee steeled himself.

"I came to explain, sir" he replied slowly, trying to pick the right words in the right order and finding it very difficult, "That day, on Colonial One…"

"You explained at your hearing, Captain" Adama interrupted, his eyes returning to his desk. Lee faltered. They hadn't spoken a word, privately, about the matter. He felt he needed to get something off his chest, although he wasn't quite sure what that something was. His father, as always, preferred to act as if the incident had never happened. Usually, this was perfectly fine with Lee. They had never had words about Zach, or his mother. Now, though, he wanted to say something, anything, to make it better, to try and redeem himself. His father wouldn't let him.

"Is that all, Captain?"

"Yes" Lee answered, "Sir" He turned and left without a fight.

Lee was walking. There wasn't a room aboard ship that he could imagine being in right now, alone or with people. So he was walking. He'd already made one trip around the ship and was just starting his second.

"Apollo" Lee jerked his head up and nodded at the blonde matching his stride.

"Starbuck" he replied. She wasn't smiling either. If anything, their relationship had grown closer over the past few months. They had both done stupid things that day that had damaged their reputations, perhaps irreversibly, even if they had both made the right decision. And they both knew the only reasons they still held the positions they did was that this Fleet needed every experienced person it could get in order to survive. Getting rid of the CAG and his XO at the same time was out of the question, and they couldn't punish the one and not the other. All the same, respect was hard won, easily lost, and regained only with time, patience, pain and work.

"You go vote yet?" she asked.

"This morning"

"You think Roslin's going to win?" Starbuck wanted to know.

"She better" Lee answered. Starbuck had it easier. At least her defiance had yielded tangible results. His had yet to do the same. If Roslin was re elected president, at least his actions would have some justification. Not that it would ever matter to certain people. Colonel Tigh would hate him forever now.

"Yeah, well…"

"Captain Adama to the CIC" Officer Dualla's voice announced over the coms, interrupting Starbuck.

"Guess you're still needed for something around here" Starbuck quipped and continued the way she was going while Lee turned around and headed for the CIC, wondering what was going on. They had left Kobol, what Roslin and others believed to be Kobol anyway, sometime ago and now they were in need of supplies again. He knew the Old Man had been sending out the raptors to look.

He stepped onto the deck and noticed that there was an excited vibe in the air. He descended the stairs to where his father was speaking quietly with Tigh. He got an evil eye from the XO.

"Captain. The raptor found a planet with viable living conditions" the Commander started in his slow, even way, "They reported seeing a small settlement, active radio signals" Adama stopped speaking, looking up from the board he'd had his eyes on. The personal feelings that had been in his eyes were gone and now he was the Commander of the Fleet. Lee had always wondered how he so completely separated the two.

"I want you to take Starbuck and check it out. Use extreme caution" he finished.

"Sir?" Lee was somewhat confused. Extreme caution for some colonists?

"The Cylons look like us now, Captain" Tigh reminded him harshly, "Who knows how many models they have?"

"Of course, sir" Lee nodded. They were afraid this was some kind of Cylon trick. Well, at this point he wouldn't put it past them. But if he went out now, he'd miss the election results. He'd have to be in agony another 24 hours, at least. He took a deep breath, burying his feeling deep down, with all the others, saluted, and headed out to track down Starbuck.

(just out of jump)

"Well, she's a pretty planet" Starbuck commented over the comms. Her voice crackled in Lee's ear. Indeed, the planet was lovely, all blue and green and swirlly white clouds. It reminded him of home, but then he figured that any planet that would be suitable for human life was going to remind him, and everybody else, of home. Some home or another, anyway. There were still fights breaking out throughout the Fleet, less than before, between members of the 12 Colonies. Slowly, they were learning that there were no more Capricans or Sagitarians anymore. There were only the Survivors. One people, with one mission. Humanity, on the whole, were slow learners though.

"So how exactly are we supposed to figure out if these people are Cylons? Ask politely for a vial of blood from each of them?" Starbuck continued.

"I don't know. Let's just get down there first, huh?" Lee answered, the same question reverberating in his mind. They had images of a few of the models. If they saw Boomer, for instance, they'd know right away. His next question, though, was what he was supposed to do if they weren't Cylons. If they were lost colonists, or even some completely other species? He and Starbuck started their descent through the atmosphere. He was picking up radio signals, not strong ones. The two vipers headed towards the signals, both silent.

"I have a visual" Starbuck suddenly reported. They were passing over what looked like a valley, surrounded by a mountainous region on three sides and a small sea on the other. A thick blue vein of a river pushed inland from the sea, and along its riverbanks stood buildings, mostly primitive but sprinkled with what appeared to be prefab units. As the vipers lost altitude, Lee spotted small bodies emerging from some of those buildings. Suddenly, his ears were bombarded by a screeching sound which quickly settled into a crackling radio signal.

"Alien craft please identify yourselves" a female voice demanded strongly.

"Looks like someone's home" Starbuck said.

"Be advised, this is Viper One of the Fleet of the 12 Colonies" Lee replied, not completely sure that he should have said all of that. That voice, though!

"Please, land. We would be happy to receive you. I'll transmit safe landing coordinates" the voice replied, a little softer, and Lee suddenly found himself wondering how old the person behind that voice was.

"Sounds like we've been invited to dinner, Captain" Starbuck quipped, "Are we accepting?"

"Don't know how we're going to figure out if they're Cylons if we don't meet them, Lieutenant" Lee replied, "Just don't eat anything you don't see them eat first" Starbuck chuckled.


	2. First Contact

A Book By Its Cover

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Battlestar Galactica no mine...no money, no sue, please?

The landing coordinates were pretty far from the actual settlement. The ground was packed dirt, better for landing than grass or marsh, though. Vipers weren't really meant for landing planet side. Lee popped his hatch and climbed out of the ship, seeing that Starbuck was doing the same.

"Fresh air" he sniffed. The smell was sweet. Starbuck sneezed.

"Fresh air all right" she replied. Lee let his lip curl just a bit. The bit of packed dirt was big enough maybe for a couple of vipers and a raptor to land. It was a bit sunk below the rest of the land, which was covered in a tall grass that waved in the slight breeze. There was what looked like an abandoned path leading west, towards where the settlement was.

"We supposed to find our own way?" Starbuck questioned, surveying the area and seeing no signs of a welcoming party.

"They're a good five kilometers away, probably take them a while to get here, walking" Lee responded, keeping his eye in the direction of the path. There was a line of trees obscuring his vision of the settlement, though the rest of the area was wide open. An ambush wasn't likely. And even if these people were unfriendly, what he'd seen of the settlement from the air looked primitive enough.

"Right" Starbuck sighed, tossing her helmet in onto her seat. She wasn't the most patient person, Lee knew. He wouldn't mind the wait, personally. It had been a long time since he'd been on a planet, out in the country where he could hear birds chirping. It was early evening, he estimated, the heat of the day starting to melt away under the gentle coax of a breeze baring the faint sent of saltwater. They weren't too far from the coast of that sea.

He'd been enjoying the atmosphere for about ten minutes when Starbuck snapped into a straight line.

"Apollo" she nodded down the path toward the tree line. A figure had just appeared, running pell mell towards them. Lee's hand fell down to his gun strapped to his thigh. The figure was coming quickly, almost too quickly Lee thought. He could make out long red hair and a curvaceous form. A woman, likely the same woman he'd spoken to. Suddenly, she stopped running and started walking a stately pace. Lee relaxed a little, though he could feel Starbuck still tense beside him. As the woman got closer, he could make out more of her. She was fairly young, probably about Kara's age. She was short, he didn't figure much over five feet. Her chest was heaving from her running, and Lee couldn't help but notice that she was well endowed. Proportionate, though.

When she was only a few meters away she stopped and smiled. Lee trusted her intrinsically. He pushed that away and tried to bring forth his suspicions. It was hard. He and Starbuck pushed their way down the overgrown path and stopped a few feet in front of her.

"Welcome" she said, and it was that same strong voice, edged softly.

"Thank you" Lee replied. She didn't look like a Cylon.

"My name is Ariel, I am the leader of the Village. You said you were from the 12 Colonies"

"The Fleet of the 12 Colonies" Lee corrected.

"We have had no contact with the Colonies in a very long time" Ariel said.

"Really?" Starbuck quipped again. Ariel's smile changed. It didn't become malicious, or scornful. Amused, it became an amused smile.

"Well, as you may have guessed we got ourselves a bit lost out here" she replied.

"Lost. How long have you been here?" Lee asked.

"I was born here. There are only a few left who remember arriving, and they were children at the time" Ariel answered. She was being very open. "Have you come far, are you in need of rest?"

"Uh, no, we're good" Lee answered, "I'm sorry we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Apollo, this is Starbuck" he continued, suddenly remembering his manners. Ariel inclined her head.

"We should start back to the Village. Others will meet us on the way, they don't run quite as quickly as I do" she said and turned to lead them down the overgrown path towards the tree line. Lee gave Starbuck a look that meant keep an eye out. Those woods would be a perfect place to lay an ambush. Ariel led the way silently, and kept a brisk pace. The woods weren't dense and they passed through them in a matter of short minutes. On the other side, they saw a small group of people heading their way.

"You'll have to excuse them for staring or other odd behavior" Ariel said before they were within earshot, "None of them have ever met a stranger" Starbuck and Lee exchanged another look.

"Hello, Hello!" a robust man of some years greeted them loudly, waving his chunky arm in the air. The group was 4 people, two women and two men of varying ages. They wore simple clothing out of what looked like home spun material, and sandals on their feet.

"Andrew!" Ariel's smile changed again, as if she were talking to a child. The two groups met and Ariel made introductions. The four villagers did stare at them, and Andrew especially was very friendly. Starbuck and Apollo were led back to the village along the path that became more worn as they went and branched off several times. About a kilometer outside the village they passed through a field that was obviously a large garden. Lee recognized some plants. These people must've come from the Colonies then. Andrew babbled on about what a great treat it was to meet strangers, the others piping up with information about how their settlement operated in between.

A huge crowd was waiting for them in the village center, which was an open circle of grass, when they finally got there. Lee had been right, many of the homes seemed to have been made of local materials. The buildings around the circle, however, were prefab. Old prefab. They were taken into one of these, a big open room with a lot of tables. It was their meeting house. Starbuck and Apollo were forced to listen to all the mechanics of the small town while dinner was prepared.

The food was pretty good. Better than what they were getting on Galactica now a days, anyway. Starbuck and Apollo were seated at the front table with Ariel and Andrew. They were stared at the whole time. When dinner had finally ended, Lee was sure they would be subjected to more of the excited villagers, but Ariel stood.

"Will the members of the Council please accompany us?" she said loudly. Andrew and the other three members of the group that had originally met them stood.

"Please come" Ariel said and led the two strangers to a set of stairs. The upper room of the building held a long table and chairs. A conference room. The members of the council joined them and all were seated.

"Well now, Apollo, Starbuck. I hope you've enjoyed our hospitality" Ariel started. She was seated at the head of the table. Her smile had faded to a mere glimmer on her lips. Her eyes had changed. The same change Lee often saw in his father's eyes. She was a leader now.

"Yes, we have. Thank you" he answered, his chest tensing up.

"I wonder why you've come" Ariel went on, "It's not likely that you're a search party after all these years"

"Uh, no" Lee replied, "Actually we kind of stumbled onto your planet. We're…"

"Explorers" Starbuck piped up. Lee gave her a look.

"We were searching for resources for our Fleet" Lee explained.

"And you hope to find these resources here?" Andrew questioned.

"Maybe" Lee answered, "We would offer compensation, of course" He was fairly sure his father and President Roslin would be willing to offer something to these people.

"We would welcome trade" one of the women, Leslie, replied eagerly.

"I'm sure you would" Starbuck smiled rakishly.

"We're really just a reconnaissance team" Lee admitted, "We aren't exactly prepared to negotiate a trade agreement"

"Of course" Ariel nodded, "I can take you back to your vessels now, if you wish"

"Thank you" Lee nodded back. He had a funny feeling about this girl. Woman. The other members of the council wished them well. Ariel led them through the town, quiet now that it was getting dark and the denizens had retreated indoors. Ariel was quiet until they reached the woods, then she turned around and stood in their way.

"What are you not telling me?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry?" Lee almost stuttered. Starbuck's hand had dropped to her gun.

"You're not really from the 12 colonies, are you?" Ariel demanded again. The sun was too low for Lee to see well, but Lee thought he saw her eyes narrow.

"Not exactly" he replied. They would find out eventually anyway, he might as well tell them now. At least they hadn't lost anyone in the disaster.

"The 12 colonies have been destroyed by the Cylons. We're from the fleet of survivors" Starbuck said before he could.

"The Cylons? I was under the impression that there was a truce of some sort between the humans and the Cylons" Ariel responded.

"There was" Lee explained, "It was a sneak attack"

"I see. How many of you are left?" she asked. Lee hesitated. He mistrusted his trust in her. It had come so easily to him. Then again, how could she possible harm them?

"Less than 50,000" he finally answered. Even in the dark he could see her pale.

"That is not a large number" she said.

"No, it's not" Starbuck replied. She had let Lee take the lead in most of the speaking while they were here.

"Well, if you're looking for somewhere to settle, I'm sure the council would welcome you. The planet is certainly large enough" Ariel told them.

"I don't think…"

"We just want supplies" Starbuck interrupted him. Ariel was quiet for a moment. Then, she relaxed.

"I'll lead you back to your ship" she said, and so she did.

"Do you have any idea when you will return?" she asked as they climbed in.

"Soon" Lee promised. She nodded and retreated from the vipers as they lifted. Lee looked down at her, her long hair blowing in the wind, and knew he would be back for her.


	3. Tour Guide

A Book By Its Cover

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Battlestar Galactica no mine...no money, no sue, please?

"Their equipment is fairly primitive" Lee reported. Roslin and his father had listened while he and Starbuck had told them about the small colony. Lee assumed this meant that Roslin had been re-elected. She no longer worked as well with Commander Adama as she had before.

"How many of them were there?" Adama asked.

"About a thousand, sir" Starbuck answered, "According to Ariel"

"Any sign of the Cylons, Captain?" Roslin questioned.

"Not as far as we could tell, Madame President" Lee answered, "They've been there quite some time, most of them had been born on the planet"

"Yes, you mentioned that. You said the last contact they had was 30 years ago?" Roslin said.

"Yes, Ariel's father was their last addition" Lee confirmed.

"Thank you Captain, Lieutenant. You're excused" Adama nodded at them. The two pilots saluted and headed out of the CIC. Lee hung back a minute. He wanted to congratulate Roslin. Thus he overheard the President's conversation with the Commander.

"I think this is as good a chance as we're going to get to re-supply, Madame President" Adama said quietly.

"I agree Commander. Can I assume it will take some time for us to collect the needed supplies?" the President asked.

"Probably" Adama answered, though Lee heard the hint of alarm in his voice.

"Then perhaps we can schedule shore leave for some of the civilians" Roslin suggested.

"Madame President…"

"Commander Adama these people have been cooped up in overcrowded ships for too long. We've already experienced an increase in conflicts among civilians and morale is getting worse" Roslin interrupted him.

"Transporting nearly 50, 000 people to the surface of the planet and back to their respective ships again would be nearly impossible" Adama returned.

"I realize that. A lottery could be set up. Those not chosen promised spots on the next viable planet"

"We can't make that promise, Madame President" Adama pointed.

"We can make it, Commander, we just can't keep it" Roslin returned, "In politics you learn how far a promise can go" Adama sighed.

"I'll consider the possibilities, Madame President"

"Thank you" Roslin inclined her head and turned. She found Lee waiting for her.

"Captain Apollo" she smiled. Lee thought she looked tired. Much more so than she had three months ago.

"Can I offer my congratulations on your re-election, Madame President?" he held his hand out and she shook it.

"You can, thank you, Captain" she replied warmly, but pushed past him and disappeared down the hallway.

Two days later, Lee was in his viper, escorting the raptor holding Ariel and her council. They were on their way to the Galactica, where she would meet with the Commander and the President. Lee hadn't actually seen her as of yet, because he hadn't landed on the planet with the raptor. He found himself anxious to see her again, wondering if in the harsh light of the world of the Fleet she would look as welcoming as she had on her dream planet. Lee had dreamt about her last night, the image of her watching him lift off in the dark, with her hair blowing all around. He'd woken up breathing hard. In the cockpit of his viper, he felt something odd, in his mind. His comm crackled.

"Hey Apollo, you should see these guys" the pilot of the raptor said, "Especially the red head"

"I've never been in space before" Lee heard Ariel say, "It is quite beautiful" Lee smiled, remembering the first time he'd been off Caprica.

Her eyes were still huge when she disembarked the raptor in the hanger. Lee nodded to her. Her hair had been braided in one thick braid down her back. She was wearing a green dress of that same homespun material. It clung in the right places, showing off her curvaceous frame. Despite the homely garb, she looked every bit as stately as any number of any of the Council Representatives he'd ever seen. She stood straight, with her shoulders back and her chin high. The members of her council were not so diplomatic. They openly ogled everything around them.

"Captain Apollo" Ariel nodded as he joined her. Someone had informed her of his rank.

"It is very nice to see you again" she said.

"It's nice to see you again, President…uh…" Lee realized she'd never given her last name. President Ariel sounded strange.

"Nimon" she whispered out of the corner of her mouth. Lee didn't reply. His father and President Roslin were approaching. They'd come down to the hanger to welcome the visiting dignitaries.

"President Nimon, may I present President Roslin and Commander Adama" Lee performed the introductions. Roslin held her hand out and Ariel shook it.

"Welcome on board the Galactica, Madame President" Adama said as he shook the girl's hand as well. She did look like a girl standing next to the old man and the sick woman. Young and vibrant and strong.

"Thank you Commander. May I please introduce my Council?" she turned and the council sort of straightened up and smiled nervously. Lee noticed the difference in their behaviors as being extreme. Why should Ariel feel so much more comfortable in the presence of strangers than these others who were in her same situation? Perhaps it only spoke to her good acting skills. Those were important in politics.

"These are Andrew Biddle, Leslie Morris, Phillip Boccelli, and Anna Redkin" Each member smiled briefly as their names were said. Adama and Roslin nodded at each of them kindly.

"Well, if you'll come with us, there are refreshments" Roslin smiled and moved to allow Ariel to walk between herself and Adama. Lee followed discreetly behind.

The talks were not froth with confrontation or difficulty. The Council was very eager to begin trade immediately, though Ariel had remained reserved. She asked very intelligent questions about the environmental effects of the Galactica's re-supply. She understood the complex answers that Dr. (Vice President) Baltar gave, even though Lee felt himself getting a little dizzy trying to understand everything the convoluted man said. Looking back and forth between Commander Adama and President Roslin, Lee was fairly sure she'd impressed them more than they had expected, and not just with the initial shock of her presence that he had felt upon the first time she'd smiled at him.

He shook his head. They were touring the Galactica. Starbuck had joined them and was staying behind with him, trailing after the tour group.

"So, what do we have to give them? Seeds? How about supplies in return for tours of the Galactica? They seem to be enjoying that" Starbuck quipped.

"She's not as naïve as you might think" Lee replied, his eye following her as she listened to Commander Adama tell her about the ships' functions, "You should have heard her talking with Baltar about the ecological affects of our mining on her planet"

"Really?" Starbuck was now watching the young woman as well.

"I didn't even understand half of what they were talking about" Lee admitted.

"So, how does a girl who was born and raised on a planet without any technology know about mining?" Starbuck asked. Lee just gave her a look. That was exactly what he'd been thinking. The rest of her council hadn't asked questions, and the only answers they'd been able to provide were of fairly simple natures. Even now, as Adama explained about the ship they looked a little bored with information they didn't understand, whereas Ariel's head was tilted to the right slightly. She was listening carefully, understanding everything she was told and asking questions here and there. Lee noticed that these questions were carefully worded, as if she was trying to find a balance between letting Adama know she was listening and understanding and not wanting to alarm him.

"Commander!" Lt. Gatea cried, "We have a contact!" Adama spun around to squint at the man's screen from across the CIC. Lee was trying to see it too.

"It's a Cylon raider, sir" Montego reported. The CIC erupted into movement.

"Action stations!" the Commander ordered.

"Sir, multiple contacts now. Oh my gods, sir, it's a basestar!" The CIC was quiet. It had been a while since they'd run into a basestar. The Fleet couldn't handle any more damage, not now. They would run. They needed to run. Which created a problem.

"Apollo, get you're fighters out there" Adama ordered, "Get the Fleet ready to jump!" People were rushing around. Lee was about to turn and head out with Starbuck when a flash of red hair caught his eye. Ariel was standing amid the chaos, stock still, waiting for someone to say something to her. She turned, and she caught his look. He started to move towards her.

"Sir?" Gatea's voice raised again, "They're firing on the planet." The room quieted again. Ariel's face had paled and her eyes had grown wide.

"Where, Lt. Gatea?" Adama asked.

"It looks like they're firing directly at the village, sir" the Lieutenant answered quietly.

"Our people!" Anna Redkin exclaimed.

"Someone get these people out of here!" Colonel Tigh, who had only just arrived, shouted loudly.

"Council, you are excused. I will remain here to monitor the problem" Ariel said in a calm but firm voice. Her council allowed themselves to be led away.

"Madame Presidents, I suggest you return to Colonial One" Adama said.

"We need all our pilots out there, Commander" Roslin reminded him, "I'll stay here, thank you"

"Commander, I have a thousand people down there who are going to be frightened out of their minds. They have no idea what's going on, most of them have never even heard of a Cylon, and those that have think of them only as stories to scare children into doing as their parents say" Ariel replied, "I must beg you to help us"

"Apollo, send three raptors. Tell them to get as many people as they can and then get back to Galactica. Colonel Tigh, have the rest of the fleet make the jump, we'll join them as soon as we get our people back" Adama ordered.

"Thank you" Ariel said, then turned around, "Captain Apollo, I'm going with you"

"With all due respect, Madame President…" Lee started to object.

"Don't argue" she interrupted and brushed past him towards the hanger.


	4. Crash, but don't burn

A Book By Its Cover

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Battlestar Galactica no mine...no money, no sue, please?

"All right people, let's give these raptors some cover" Lee said over his comm. to the rest of his pilots. He was keeping an eye on the raptor that was already carrying a precious cargo: Ariel Nimon. The basestar was throwing raiders at them like it had an endless supply and the vipers were having a hell of a time batting them away from the raptors. The attack on the planet had ceased, at least. Lee dodged a raider's fire and was gratified to see it explode under Starbuck's return.

"Thanks, Starbuck" he said.

"Anytime" she replied. She would be revved up when this battle was over and they were all back on Galactica.

"They're coming in hot, Apollo!" another pilot cried.

"All right, all right, just try to keep them off the raptors!" Behind him, the rest of the Fleet was starting to jump away. Within a matter of minutes, the only ship left was the Galactica.

"Apollo, what's your ETA?" Lee heard his father's voice over the comm.

"We're just heading into the atmosphere now, Galactica" Apollo responded. The raiders were following them, too. The vipers were continuing the fight in the atmosphere of the planet, but that's not what they were built for.

"Damn those things can move!" Starbuck swore over the comm. The raptors were landing on the patch of packed earth that Lee had told them about. To his surprise, there were villagers waiting already, and he could see others running from the tree line.

"Starbuck, let's cover those people" he said and dipped the nose of his viper down to fly over them. He could see them duck and cover their heads. There were children running between adults and they all looked rather battered. Lee followed the line of people all the way back to the village. It had been entirely destroyed. In fact, all that was left was a smoldering black gorge in the earth. Nobody who had been in that town would have survived.

"They must've been in the fields" Lee said, mostly to himself, thinking about the survivors. He wondered how many were left.

"Apollo, watch your tail!" Starbuck yelled in his ear, but it was too late. He hadn't noticed the raider behind him.

"I'm hit!" he shouted, struggling to keep his viper from tail spinning out of control.

"Get back to the ship!" Starbuck cried.

"It's too late!" Apollo replied. He was heading back toward the raptors. He would have to land and take a raptor back up to Galactica. Lee tried to decelerate as he flew over the grass plain, and ended up skidding to a halt, gouging a long streak in the grass. Two raptors were lifting off as he popped his hatch.

"Starbuck, you make sure those ships get back to Galactica!" Apollo ordered.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'll take the next one up" he replied. He was already running for the last raptor. Ariel was there, helping people up into the ship.

"Ariel, what are you still doing here?" he asked.

"This is all of them" she replied, "Not even a hundred. The rest are gone" Only two vipers were left above their heads to escort the last raptor back to Galactica. And it was likely that the Galactica was sustaining heavy damage while it waited for the return of its service men.

"That's it!" the pilot was standing by Ariel's side, helping to load people, but he stopped, "That's it, that's all we can take" There were two children still waiting for rescue.

"What do you mean that's all?" Ariel demanded.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but that's our weight limit" the pilot answered, "Any heavier and we won't be able to lift off" Ariel glanced at the pilot and then down at the children. She stepped down from the ship and lifted the first one up.

"What are you doing?" Lee demanded, yanking at her arm just as she released the child into the pilot's care.

"The two of them probably weigh about as much as me" Ariel answered. She lifted the second child with a smile and handed her up.

"Madame President…." Lee started.

"These children are not going to die so that I can live!" Ariel stopped him with a hard look. The pilot waited for Lee to say something.

"Captain?"

"Go" Lee finally ordered, "I'll stay here with her" It wasn't really a sacrifice. They didn't have room for him either.

"We'll be back for you, Captain!" the pilot cried as the raptor door closed and Lee and Ariel backed away. They watched as the ship lifted off, its viper guard close by still fighting off raiders though the enemy were fewer now. When it was too high to see anymore, Ariel grabbed Lee's hand and yanked him toward the tree line.

"Come on, there may be another way off this planet" she said and began pulling him.

Commander Adama took his glasses off his face and wiped a hand across his brow. The ship rocked from another blow from the basestar. The raptor would be safely on board by now, with all the vipers. The rest of the fleet was already gone. All he had to do was give the order. He couldn't do it.

"Commander?" Colonel Tigh said softly beside him, "There's nothing we can do now" Adama put his glasses back on his face. His son was not dead.

"We'll have to come back for them" he said. He heard Tigh give the order to make the jump and he heard Roslin say something about being sorry. Their words drifted through his head without him really grasping them. He was wondering why he'd bothered to get out of bed that morning.

Lee sank into the dirt and twigs and tried to catch his breath. Ariel had had him running through the trees faster than he'd even thought possible. She was breathing hard but not as hard as he was. It was suspicious, but Lee didn't have time to notice.

"You should drink" she whispered, "The stream trickles down to almost nothing further up and you need the water" She brushed long strands of auburn hair that had escaped her braid as they ran away from her face. She had been running so fast through the trees there had been no time to push away the branches and her face was scratched and bleeding in several places. She had ripped the bottom of her skirt away, showing off her sleek claves and dainty ankles. The extra material was tied around her waste. Lee rolled over and cupped his hands into the stream. The water was cool and felt wonderful as he splashed it over his lips and let it trickle down his throat.

"You're bleeding" he said, looking up at Ariel. Strange, she didn't look like a girl anymore. Her face held the same hardened look that Starbuck's had, a woman soldier. A survivor. She lifted a delicate hand, with strong fingers, to her face.

"They're just scratches" she said, "I'm fine. How're you? Do you feel lightheaded or does your stomach feel queasy?" Lee thought they were odd questions.

"No" he replied. She nodded. She wasn't looking at him, she was looking across the stream into the woods, as if she was watching something. Lee turned his head but didn't see anything.

"I was afraid I was running you too hard" she said. Lee was indignant. He was the trained soldier, he should be worrying about running her too hard. In fact, he should be the one in charge, deciding where they were going and what they were going to do.

"I'm more familiar with the territory then you are" she told him as if she'd heard what he was thinking, "You can be in charge later" Finally, she looked at him, and smiled at her own joke. The soldier faded for just a second and Lee found a new side of her, the beautiful young woman he was strongly attracted to. He wanted to know how she could be so many people all in one. He had a hard time just being CAG and a son.

"You said there might be another way off this planet" he said to distract himself. She returned her eyes to the trees.

"I saw your ship go down. It didn't look like the damage was bad. I can probably fix it if we can get back to the village"

"The village was destroyed" he said, "There's nothing left" And then he thought of something else.

"What do you mean you could fix my ship?" How would she know how to fix a piece of technology that she'd never even seen before? She didn't spare him a look.

"My father liked to tinker with ships. He taught me" she answered, still watching the trees as if she could see something. It was starting to bother Lee.

"You're father? I think I'd like to meet this man" A look a pain crossed her eyes. He thought. Was pretty sure.

"He died two years ago" she said quietly, "He was…old"

"I'm sorry" Lee replied. She grabbed his hand, her eyes floating over him swiftly as if checking to see if he was healthy.

"Come on, there's something else we can do"

"I don't understand!" Gaius cried to an empty room. Not completely empty.

"Think about it Gaius" Six ordered him. She never asked him, never suggested. Always ordered. And she made it seem like he had a choice in the matter, when he never really did. Somewhere within himself, somewhere Six couldn't reach, he knew that. He knew he was being manipulated. He was a genius after all.

"The Cylons want…what? The girl?" he was trying to wrap his mind around her. Trying to guess the answers to a game he was being forced to play without all the rules. She kept her secrets, kept everything he wanted just outside of his reach. She taunted him with it, played with his mind until he couldn't stand it anymore and then she'd drop the smallest crumble of it. He hated her. And loved her. She was a drug he couldn't stop taking. She had stripped him of his own mind, from his own mind, in his own mind. And he never thought to turn that on her. If she was in his mind, then he was in hers.

"You said something about her earlier" he continued, "When she was asking all those questions. How does she know all of that?" Six walked seductively around the table, her long fingers trailing the edge, her eyes half open. His mouth watered. He had an addiction, he was sick.

"So what? She's a Cylon?"

"No" Six answered, turning the last corner towards him, "She's not a Cylon"


	5. Alone in the Woods

A Book By Its Cover

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Battlestar Galactica no mine...no money, no sue, please?

"They're landing"

"What?" Ariel was in a tree. Lee had given her a lift onto the first branch and she had climbed almost all the way to the top, where she stopped to look out over the gorge where her village had once been. Lee hadn't even realized they were near it until she said something. He'd had to admit that she was more familiar with the territory, knew where to go, should be in charge for now. She started climbing down, and he moved to stand under the last branch. He put his hands up for her to slide into. Her bare feet lightly touched the ground. His hands were still on either side of her. She looked up into his eyes. Hers were like the ocean, in the tropics, on Caprica. Aqua, tranquil, mysterious. He let her go. She stepped away.

"They're landing" she repeated her earlier report, "Why would they be landing? They destroyed the village, there's nothing left"

"I don't know" he replied, "Why were the firing on the village in the first place?" Her mouth opened and then shut.

"I have no idea what robots would be looking for in a village with almost no technology."

"They had to be looking for something, think something was here" Lee said.

"If that's true, they're going to be sending out search parties" Ariel surmised, "We're going to have to keep moving" Lee looked at her like she was crazy. His uniform was sweaty and his eyelids were heavy. She wasn't tired. He only knew one person who never got tired, no matter how long the days were or how hard the work was. Despite that suspicion, the logic it made in his head, he couldn't believe it. Wouldn't. Simply didn't.

"We have to rest" he replied, "We're both exhausted and we're going to need food soon" Ariel was quiet for a second.

"I only know one place to go, and it's going to take us a while to get there" she said. Lee nodded. Ariel looked up at the sky through the trees, then back towards the village. Where the village had been anyway.

"It's going to be dark soon. We'll have to find somewhere to sleep. And it's going to rain"

"Great" Lee said, not excited about spending the night in the rain with the Cylons starting to comb the area. He raked his brain, trying to think of a reason, any reason, why the Cylons would be interested in the small planet. Why they would want to destroy the village of human beings that had never even heard of them. The only thing he could come up with was that they were immoral murders, bent on the complete destruction of humanity for no bigger reason than that was what they were programmed to do. Programmed by who, though?

"Grab some branches" Ariel was saying. She had laid the strip of cloth ripped from her dress on the ground and was filling it with twigs and bigger bits of wood, "Might as well get wood before it gets wet" Lee bent and gathered some larger branches that were littering the ground, and wondered how she could stand to walk around barefoot out here.

"We rarely wear shoes" she told him, though he knew he hadn't said anything out loud. His eyes narrowed. This was not the first time she'd answered something he'd been thinking but hadn't actually said. His suspicions rose again, but his mind was fighting with his feelings. He trusted her, and he didn't know why in light of the fact that there were more than enough signs that she was a Cylon for him to hold a gun on her. He wasn't used to his feelings being strong enough to fight his mind.

Ariel tied the ends of the cloth together to cover the wood and straightened up. The sun shining through the leaves brandished her hair with an ethereal glow, throwing her face into soft shadow, making her seem like something from the story books his mother read to him as a small child. Those creatures had been magical.

"We're going to be heading into the mountains, away from the sea" she told him, "If someone comes back for us we won't be anywhere near where they left us"

"They'll expect us to be on the move" Lee assured her. He saw the doubt in her eyes, though.

"They'll be back for us" he promised, "Starbuck'll make sure of it" Another look crossed her eyes but Lee couldn't figure out what it meant. She nodded at him, took a deep breath and started walking.

"Starbuck" Adama warned her quietly. She spun around, angry eyes throwing daggers.

"They just left him, sir!"

"He volunteered to stay with the President, sir" the pilot who had been flying the last raptor and had been suffering Starbuck's vicious tirade for it tried to defend himself, "And we didn't have much of a choice. President Nimon gave her spot up to get the last two children onboard"

"We have to go back for him, sir" Starbuck said, ignoring the pilot now.

"We will" Adama promised, "But we're not going to be able to just fly back and make a landing. We need a plan" Starbuck was quietly fuming, knowing that the Old Man was certainly right. The Cylons weren't going to be leaving that planet anytime soon.

Night had descended more quickly than Lee would have thought. The rain started soon after, but by that time they already had a fire going and Ariel had constructed a roof of sorts out of tree branches. It was just big enough for them to huddle under. Their feet were still getting wet. Lee leaned against the tree that was helping to provide cover, just thinking maybe the fire wasn't the greatest idea. If the Cylons didn't spot the light it was giving off, they could see the smoke.

"This wood burns pretty pure" Ariel said, poking the fire with a stick, "It doesn't give off much smoke and the light is dim. Under the cover of the trees they probably won't see it"

"How do you do that?" Ariel looked at him, startled.

"What?"

"Know what I'm thinking before I say anything" Lee expounded, although he was thinking she'd probably known what he meant.

"I don't know what you're thinking" she laughed, but nervously, "It was a logical thing to be thinking about. You're a solider, after all"

"I'm a fighter pilot" Lee corrected.

"You still had to go through some sort of basic military training" she replied, "And I'm sure they said something about the pros and cons of building a fire in enemy territory" Lee supposed she had a point. The fire was small, after all, though it was providing quite a bit of heat. Lee wondered if there was something about the wood that made it burn hotter.

"It seems odd to think of my home as enemy territory" she said. The fire was reflecting in her aqua eyes. She shivered as a rain drop rolled down her back. The night was cold and the rain wasn't helping. Lee wished he could offer her a coat, but he didn't have one. The notion was more chivalrous than he considered himself to be anyway.

"I know what you mean" he replied instead. The Cylons were inhabiting his home now too. Living in his apartment, his father's house. He thought of them looking down at his brother's grave, next to his mother's, and a stifling rage started to build up inside him. He quickly changed the images playing in his mind to something happier, a childhood scene of him and Zach.

"It's not easy to lose everything in an instant. Homes, family, friends" she went on, staring into the fire without really seeing it, "Did you have family, Apollo? Wife, kids?"

"No" Lee answered, somewhat painfully. No, he'd never found a woman that had pierced his heart. He had finally given into the fact that he probably never would, long ago, before Zach had ever found Kara.

"I had a brother, but he died a few years ago. You?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. He would've known had she had a husband and children. Siblings, perhaps, though. Perhaps she too had lost a sibling. She shook her head.

"No"

"We should get some sleep" Lee suggested, trying to put his body in a more comfortable position for that purpose, "We'll need to start as soon as the sun comes up" He waited for Ariel to close her eyes before closing his.

"We would first like to thank you for saving our people" the stricken middle aged woman Laura remembered as being named Leslie said earnestly, leaning forward slightly, "We realize it put your Fleet in danger, and want you to know it is much appreciated"

"I'm sorry we couldn't save more" Laura replied with a sad smile of her own. There was a light dancing above the woman's head. It wasn't real.

"We were wondering, however," the large man, Andrew, continued, "If there is any hope of rescuing Ariel, that is, President Nimon"

"I'm sure that Commander Adama is planning a rescue mission" Laura smiled at the four council members who were all white and wane, still trying to cope with the fact that less than a hundred of their people had survived the Cylon attack.

"Is it true that Apollo is with her?" Anna, the younger woman, asked. Laura nodded.

"Yes, Captain Apollo stayed behind with her. I'm sure he'll make sure that she's fine" Laura answered, believing in her own promise. She must be careful of that. The last three months had jaded her.

"Please, will you tell us…if anything changes?" Leslie requested and again Laura gave her that small sad smile.

"Of course"


	6. Cave Talk

A Book By Its Cover

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Battlestar Galactica no mine...no money, no sue, please?

He had to wake up. Something was telling him he had to wake up. Now!

Lee's eyes flew open and he sat up quickly. His senses were already alert, looking for the danger. The ground was dry, the sun was up, the fire was dead. Ariel was gone.

A quiet whistle made him turn his head. His eyes followed his ears. He would have missed her. She had re-braided her hair. The green of her dress was almost the exact color of the bush she was half immersed in. She was looking back at him, as if she had been the one telling him to wake up. There was a quietness in the air Lee did not want to disturb. There was an edge of danger flaring his nostrils and pumping his blood. Ariel motioned to him to come, but to be quiet. Lee had to look down to watch where he put his foot, so as not to break a twig and give away their location. When he reached her, she held something out to him and he took it. It was warm and juicy. Meat. He looked up at her. She was putting a strip of the same stuff in her own mouth. Lee lifted the meat to his nose and sniffed. She rolled her eyes at him. The smell reminded him of the fact that it had been far too long since the last time he ate and he stuffed the meat in his mouth, chewing quickly, wiping the juice from his chin and licking his fingers. When he swallowed, she held her hand out again, closed fist. He cupped his left hand and was happy to see dozens of little black berries fall into it. He popped several into his mouth at once. They were sweet and tart and exploded with juice. He wanted to know why they weren't speaking.

Ariel's arm lifted and her finger pointed. Lee looked. There were trees and bushes. The sun glinted.

Glinted.

Off metal.

Cylons.

Now he heard them, crunching around in the underbrush. They were close and there were a lot of them, too spread out to go around. They were headed out, away from the village, toward the plains. The woods weren't thick, a line of trees really, separating the village from the fields. If it hadn't been so wild, Lee would've thought the villagers had planet it that way as a natural kind of defense. Defense from what he didn't know. At any rate, the Cylons would soon get through the wood's thickness and then might abandon the area as already searched. Were the machines smart enough to realize that just because it had been searched once there still might be something there? Machines. Machines that looked like humans, that bled, that gave birth. Where was the line? Could he have accepted them, if they hadn't been so bent on killing him and the rest of humanity?

Lee pulled his gun out. Ariel's hand covered his. His skin blushed beneath her touch, his body warmed. He ignored it. She shook her head and pointed again. The Cylons weren't headed their way. In fact, they were headed the opposite way. It didn't make sense. Perhaps the gods were with them. Ariel released his hand and Lee put his gun away, popping more berries into his mouth. He hadn't dropped them. Ariel sank from view, dropping down to the ground within the bush. Lee followed her down to the ground, able to see her face through the branches of the bush. She smiled at him.

They were all discouraged. The room was filled with it. They all studied the map. None of them saw anything.

Adama pulled the glasses off his face and wiped his hand over his eyes, blowing out a breath.

"There has to be a way" Starbuck muttered. Not even she had been able to come up with a plan to rescue Lee and Ariel. Not a way that would leave the majority of the Fleet out of harm's way and didn't include her own self getting blown up or captured. Tigh had come up with nothing, Adama had come up with nothing. They stared at the same map they had been staring at for hours. Starbuck had gone back to check out the status of the Cylons. They had landed on the planet, spread out, as if they were looking for something. Looking for Lee and Ariel. Adama swallowed, though nobody noticed. His son was stranded in enemy territory. His son, his only son. They weren't going anywhere.

"Hey, wake up" Ariel's soft voice filtered through Lee's mind. He'd fallen asleep again. Despite the hard ground and the immanent danger, it had been the best sleep he'd gotten since the Fleet had escaped Caprica. He opened his eyes slowly and was delighted to see Ariel's soft face, haloed by early afternoon sunlight, smiling sweetly down at him. It was a sight he could wake up to every morning.

He straightened up and saw that his head had been resting in her lap. He moved away, slightly embarrassed. She got to her feet and brushed her skirt off. There were little stains from the berries she had collected. He hadn't had the chance to ask her about that yet.

"We're getting a late start" she said. The bit of ripped cloth was tied around her waist. There was a stain in it. Her hand dipped into the folds and pulled out another slice of cooked meat, cold and hard now but chewable. Lee ate it thankfully.

"Where'd you learn to hunt?" he asked, his voice still quiet, afraid Cylons could still be in the area.

"I've been hunting since I was young" she answered, "It's a necessity of life here. I don't especially like doing it" Lee nodded. Of course it was. Of course she didn't. He should've been the one up early, out finding food, watching for Cylons. He was the man.

Ariel smiled at him, a blush creeping into her cheeks. She shook her head and sighed, "Come on, let's get hiking"

They stayed in the woods, heading north in a pretty straight line. Once or twice they had to stop to hide from a Cylon patrol. Lee never heard them, saw them, until Ariel had already told him to duck, to hide, to be quiet. They moved when and where she said, and Lee wasn't thrilled about the loss of control. They didn't talk, except for when they had to. Lee could hear birds chirping in the trees and small animals burrowing deep away from the intruders. The sun was warm through the trees, though he could tell they were making their way north because the breeze was getting cooler and the ground was becoming more rocky, steeper. They would be in the mountains soon, he was sure.

By the time the sun was starting to go down they hadn't seen a Cylon in quite a while. Lee had actually been enjoying the hike, being out in nature. He'd always wanted to go camping as a child, he and Zach would set up tents in their backyard. Except for the Cylons and the fact that Starbuck should've been back for them a long time ago if there was anyway for her to get there, he was having fun.

"There are some caves around here" Ariel stopped walking and looked from side to side, "I can't remember exactly where, I haven't been up here in years" It was the first time she'd admitted to not knowing exactly what she was doing. Lee was gratified to know that she was human after all. He stopped beside her, his calve muscles starting to burn and his throat yearning for water. She looked tired, finally. She looked sweet.

"The ground gets rockier over there" he pointed to the right, east and north, "More likely that caves would form in rock" Of course caves formed in rock. He was tired.

"Yeah, I think that's right. If not, we'll have to sleep outside. It'll be cold" she started off again, this time in the way Lee had picked. They came across a stream, stopped for water. The caves weren't far past that. They found them just as the sun dipped below the horizon and it was dark, except for the full moon. The cave they chose was not deep, they could see the back and had to duck so as not to hit their heads. Ariel less so. She was not tall. The top of her head came up just under Lee's chin. Perfect.

They had a nice little fire, just inside the cave so the smoke would still blow out, though there wasn't much smoke as Ariel had pointed out the night before, and there was a lot of heat so that the cave was rather toasty rather quickly. There was meat hanging over the fire. While Lee had started it, Ariel had been hunting. He didn't know how she caught anything without a weapon, but he didn't ask. He didn't want to hear about her snapping the poor creature's neck, ripping its skin from its flesh and gutting it. She had borrowed his knife.

"You know what would be perfect with this?" Lee asked as he passed her a piece of the meat, "A good glass of Caprica Valley wine" She laughed and nodded.

"And pea soup" she added. Lee had not indulged in the "if we were still home" game. He didn't want to think about if he was still home. There was no home now.

"Commander Adama, he's your father?" Ariel questioned. Lee stopped chewing for a moment and then started again. He didn't remember anyone saying they were related, though of course he could have just missed it.

"Yeah"

"So, what's he like?" Ariel wanted to know. There was grease on her chin and she wiped it away. The firelight was playing across her face and across the wall of the cave behind her. Lee could see her in a fancy restaurant with low lighting, sitting across the table from him, laughing at some joke he'd made. Maybe he'd walk her home and she'd live in one of the huge apartment complexes in downtown Caprica City. Lee shook himself. He was not playing this game. She was here, with a scratched face and muddy feet, asking him about his father.

"What do you mean?" he asked, forcing a smile on his lips.

"What's he like?" Ariel repeated, a smile on her own face. She looked good when she smiled.

"Um, he's a good leader" Lee started, not sure where to go. What was his father like? "He's intelligent and fair, um, he's very loyal" Ariel was looking at him oddly, as if she were hearing more than he was saying.

"You don't ever call him Dad, do you?" Her aqua eyes seemed to pierce through his own. What was the old saying? "The eyes are the window to the soul." Lee could feel her reading his soul and he would've been very uncomfortable if that feeling of trust wasn't so settled in him.

"Father but never Dad. You admire him and yet you're angry with him" she went on in a sort of detached tone and Lee wasn't sure she was talking about him anymore. She was right, he never called his father "Dad" anymore. He had, when he was younger. But not anymore.

"I know how you feel" Her color was vibrant. Striking in the warm touch of the firelight. Her hair was perfect auburn and her skin was the glow of a perfectly toasted marshmallow, with just a hint of strawberry in her cheeks and cherries in her lips. There wasn't much color on the Galactica. Ariel hadn't seemed quite right on Galactica. She had been like a dream walking through reality.

"My father was brilliant, and I admired him for that, but…well, he wasn't very good in the father department. He was very…secluded. And demanding" Now it was Lee's turn to hear more than what was said. There was a said look in her aqua eyes and he wanted to know about it, to wipe it away.

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly. Ariel shook herself, smiled and shrugged as if what she'd said had been nothing but trivial.

"Oh, you know how some people are, always expecting more and never being satisfied with what they get" She wiped her hands on her skirt and laid her head on her arm, her hair falling into the dirt.

"We should get some sleep, we have a difficult hike tomorrow" she said and closed her eyes.

Yes, Lee knew how some people were, always wanting more and never being quite satisfied with what they got.


	7. Run All Night

A Book By Its Cover

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Battlestar Galactica no mine...no money, no sue, please?

"Commander, it's been almost four days" Roslin said softly. She had come all the way to Galactica to have this conversation in his quarters, privately. She felt sorry for Adama, she truly did. She liked the idea of losing his son no better than he. That young man had had a brilliant mind; military, political, moral. He was the type of person that she was glad had survived because someone would have to take over when she was gone. And that time was creeping closer ever so quickly. There were days she did not want to be herself.

"Lee will find a way home" Adama answered. He sounded so certain, as if there were absolutely no doubt to be entertained by anyone because the mere suggestion that his son would not be returning was ludicrous. He had risked the entire Fleet in order to save Lt. Thrace. What would he risk to save his son?

Lee's bloody knuckles looked back at him from the rock they were grasping two feet above his head. Ariel hadn't been kidding when she'd told him that they had a difficult hike. The trees were still growing in abundance, though the underbrush was thinner now, and rocks poked out like nasty pimples in the face of the mountain. A hill she called it. A foothill. Most of the hiking he was able to do on his two feet, but they had just started up an even steeper slope and he was all but rock climbing now. He'd never seen the appeal in that sort of sport.

"Almost there" Ariel called down to him. He couldn't look up. She was wearing a dress, after all. Lee pulled himself up and was happy to find that they had reached the summit of this particular peak and were going to take a rest.

"I told you there was water up here" Ariel laughed as she splashed water from a small pool, just big enough to dip one's feet in. Lee dipped his hand in and wiped his face off. The air was cool but rock climbing was sweaty work. He looked beyond where Ariel was sunbathing, her eyes closed, and saw that the "hill" seemed to plateau here. The rock was actually jutting out creating a mini cliff, expanding from a denser forest than the one they had just passed through.

"There are craters all around here and they fill up with water from the rains. Most of them are pretty deep, so the water stays fairly clean" Ariel explained. Lee got the distinct feeling that she loved this planet, loved all the little things she knew about it, was proud of it. Proud of a planet. He drank some of the clean rainwater and let the warmth of the sun beat into his skin, expelling the chill from his sweat evaporating into the cold air.

"How much farther?" he asked.

"Not much. It's on this plateau, actually, so no more rock climbing" Ariel's foot pushed his back. He knew her feet were bloody, like his knuckles, but she hadn't said anything. He should offer to carry her the rest of the way.

"We could probably get there before dark if we hurry" she finished. Hurry? Lee felt as if he could barely move, the only thing keeping him going were the adrenaline and the thought of getting pretty Ariel Nimon back to the Galactica. Galactica needed the color.

"So what is this place anyway?" he wanted to know. She never had told him. She sang while they hiked, songs he recognized but his Father knew better. Old songs. Songs her father had taught her? The secluded father who was very demanding, never satisfied with what he got? Were all fathers thus?

"It's um…kind of a…well, a sort of, you know…uh…retreat I guess" she stumbled over an explanation and it was the first time she'd ever done so. She was hiding something. She didn't want to tell him what it was. Was he walking into a trap? Was it Cylons? How was it that she was never as tired as he was, never needed water as desperately as he did, always knew when the Cylons were coming? Was she just another model?

"It was where my father would go when he was disappointed with me, or he just didn't want to be with people anymore" she told him, "Sometimes he would stay for months before he ever came back down to the village" The pain in her voice. Human. "Well we should…" he stopped. She had suddenly become very rigid, staring off into the air.

"Do you see that?" she asked, pointing. Lee followed her finger. There was a dot in the sky. It was getting bigger. How had she even seen it before this? He watched as it got bigger and then his heart stopped. He could see it, see exactly what it was.

"It's a Cylon raider" he told her, jumping to his feet and turning to pull her by her strong, delicate hands to her own, noticing the wince when pressure had been returned to her feet.

"One of those ships?" she asked, squinting at it to see it better. It was much closer now, easy to identify.

"Yes" Lee answered, pushing her towards the woods, taking a step after her. The raider was moving fast. The rock they had been resting on exploded as the raider fired, throwing dust and chunks and hunks of boulder flying through the air. In the woods, Ariel pushed herself off of her stomach and looked around. Lee lay face down only a few feet away. Bits of rock were still raining down. Ariel pulled Lee's head into her lap.

"Apollo?" Lee's eyes opened slowly and he winced. He had escaped any damage from flying rock but the force of the explosion had knocked him down. His head hurt. His leg hurt. His head was in Ariel's lap again.

"Are you okay?" she asked, "Follow my finger" She moved one long skinny finger back and forth in front of his face and he followed it with his eyes. Then her hand descended and cupped over one eye. She bent her face close to hers so that he could smell her breath falling on his nose and it smelled sweet, despite the days of meat and no toothbrushes. She removed her hand and it drifted lightly to his temple.

"Well, your pupils are dilating" she reported, "You don't have a concussion"

"Good" he replied, pushing himself to his feet and she following. He could hear the raider making another pass. He took her hand and they ran, fast. The raider followed behind them, letting volley after volley down into the woods, only meters behind them. It couldn't see them, couldn't see where they were. It could only fire in a logical pattern, and one thing humans would always have over machines was the power of the illogical.

"Focus, Gaius" Six whispered in his ear and Gaius returned his attention to the press conference. Roslin held them weekly, to keep the Fleet abreast of any changes, decisions, to keep her face in the news he supposed. He generally did not take part in the conferences, but as Vice President, re-elected, he was expected to show his face. He could be sitting in his laboratory running tests on blood samples, slowly etching away at his 61 years of work still left to do. He preferred to be here.

"…and we need to conserve our fuel so for now we're staying put, sending out raiders to look for another source of supplies. Meanwhile staying put increases the chances that Captain Adama and President Nimon will somehow find their way back to us" Roslin was saying and there were flashes going off. She smiled and took questions, but Gaius's mind drifted off again.

"God has a plan for us, Gaius" Six murmured in his ear, nipping at his lobe, "All of us. Even President Nimon"

The raider continued making passes infrequently, but Ariel and Lee were now far off course and so safe from the exploding, burning forest. Lee thought he had caught a tear in her eye when she'd turned to see the damage being done, but it had been fleeting and her feet had carried her away too quickly. He couldn't keep up.

"There's something wrong with your leg" she finally said, stopping and so making him stop as well. He had been trying not to notice, not to let her notice, but he had a feeling that very little escaped her notice.

"We can't stop. They'll be sending troops up here if they think we're still alive" Lee told her, trying to limp past her. She caught his arm. Continually surprised by her. Her grip was strong.

"And judging by that raider that keeps blowing bits of my forest up they still think we're alive. But that's a problem that will have to wait. What's wrong with your leg?" she wanted to know and Lee found himself sliding onto the ground, his leg extended painfully and her hands running up and down making his flesh burn.

"It's not broken" he replied, "I'll be fine"

"Yes, until infection sets into these cuts and we have to cut your entire leg off" Her fingers were feeling the back of his calf and thigh, poking through small holes in his flight suit to brush against his skin. Her finger tips were cold and soft. Lee hadn't noticed the cuts until she said something and now he could feel each one, burning pieces of splintered rock gouged and embedded in his skin. His head began to throb and he realized he must've hit that too, and though Ariel had told him he didn't have a concussion it didn't mean he wouldn't have a headache. Now all the pains of the past, what, three days? were coming back and his throat ached from lack of water and his stomach growled from lack of food and his eyes grew too heavy to hold open and he couldn't move, not another step.

"You're going to have to flip over" Ariel was telling him, her voice breaking through the haze he'd let himself dip down into, "You're going to be very awake in a moment" He was on his stomach and her cold, soft fingers were moving in his pants. And then pain. She was picking the slivers of rock out of his leg and it was painful. He didn't know how long it took, but it was too long and when she finally stopped he had to wait for the pain to ebb away before he could turn back over, a mask on so she wouldn't know.

The tips of her fingers were bloody, she wiped them on her muddy, torn skirt adding to the stains from the berries she collected every morning. Lee never saw any berry bushes.

"I can't do anything about the blood now" she said, "But it's not bad. You won't bleed to death, anyway"

"Thanks" Lee grunted. He ran his own hand down the back of his leg and pulled it away with spots of blood across his palm. He wouldn't bleed to death. He might die anyway.

"Come on" she used her weight as leverage and pulled him to his feet. He could put weight on the leg but couldn't run as fast as she. He couldn't run as fast as she before.

"We'll just have to run through the night too" she said, "We can't risk stopping now, and anyway we're close" Lee was thinking of a cozy little cabin with big comfy chairs and a fireplace, with food on the shelves. The sun was creeping close to the horizon and he could only hope that when she said close, she meant close.


	8. Dr Nimon

A Book By Its Cover

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Battlestar Galactica no mine...no money, no sue, please?

"Apollo, keep up!" Ariel called back to him. She was stopped, again. It was nearly pitch dark in the woods where the trees grew so closely together that the canopy blocked out the full moon. He could barely see her. His head hurt and his leg had begun to throb. He could feel blood trickling down his leg and knew the running was only making it worse. But he could hear Cylons crashing through the trees and underbrush now, they were getting closer. He kept moving, feeling a little like a weight tied to her leg. She hadn't eaten all day, not since that morning's berries and water. She found a few things for him, mushrooms and some leaves that had tasted like mint, but hadn't taken any for herself. Apparently natural sources of food were somewhat scarce up here. Especially with the woods on fire behind them now.

"Come on, just a little further, we're almost there" she said as he finally caught up with her. She slung his arm over her shoulder and it was easier to move with her support. He might not have a concussion, but he had hurt his head and it was finally catching up with him. And so were the Cylons.

"It's right there" Ariel told him but he saw nothing. Strike that, he saw Cylons.

"Ground!" he cried and pulled her down as he dropped. He pulled his gun out and fired at the machine before it could fire at them but he missed. His hand was shaking. He tried to hand the gun to Ariel but she pushed it back, shaking her head.

"I don't know how" she replied, "We don't have guns" Lee raised the gun again. The Cylon fired first. It had bad aim, and the ground next to them spit up into the air. Lee fired, again, again, again. The Cylon went down. They got off the ground, Ariel supporting Lee again, and they were off. Cylons were behind them, firing, but there was no time to stop and fire back. All they could do was dodge and thank the gods that the Cylons had bad aim. Odd, for a machine to miss.

"It's here" Ariel announced, stopping. Lee didn't see anything but more trees. But they had stopped so he turned and began firing back at the Cylons who were even now growing too close for comfort.

"Ariel Serenity Marie Angelique Veronica Nimon" Lee heard something like a whoosh and Ariel's hand on his arm pulled him backwards, into an even more complete darkness. Suddenly, the woods disappeared, the Cylons disappeared. There was nothing but black.

"Lights" Ariel's voice said and a flicker, then a glow, then full overhead lights came on, nearly blinding Lee. He was staring at a wall with "Exit" marked in red at eye level. He could see the faint outline of a doorway. He slowly turned on his heel and glanced around the space. It was a laboratory of some sort. There were work tables with microscopes and tubes littered across them. Lee didn't recognize all of the equipment.

"Where are we?" he asked. Ariel was standing by his side, her eyes drifting over the room in a familiar way.

"This is my father's retreat" she replied.

"Where is he?" He couldn't hide the suspicion in his voice, the doubt.

"I told you, he died two years ago. I'm not lying to you, Apollo, and I'm not a Cylon so quit looking at me like that" she replied, almost hotly. Lee put his gun away, but didn't take his eyes off of her. He believed her.

"Then what are you?" he asked.

"Human" she answered as if it was obvious and he was stupid to have asked. He shook his head.

"No, no human can do what you've been doing. You hear them before they're close enough to hear, you run and never get tired and you hardly eat" He could've gone on with a few other odd things he'd noticed about her but he stopped. She closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, he could see how tired she was. Exhausted.

"Come on, lets get you fixed up and I'll tell you everything" she turned around and crossed the lab. He followed, not too closely, careful not to touch anything. There was a door, and behind it a stairway. He had to use the walls to get himself up. At the top was that cozy little cabin he'd been imagining, with a huge bed that was making his mouth water and a fireplace. There was even a kitchen, though no food.

"Sit" Ariel ordered and Lee lowered himself onto the couch in front of the fireplace. There was chopped firewood sitting beside it and Ariel piled it up, lighting it was a box of matches that sat on the mantle.

"The smoke is caught and ventilated out, so it won't give away our position" she explained. She got up and crossed to the kitchen, opening a cupboard and pulling out a box marked "food stuffs" that looked like it had been issued before his father had even joined the military. She tore the box open and pulled out two packets, tossing one to him. He didn't look at the date before opening it and stuffing the contents in his mouth. There was running water too, and Ariel was boiling some on the stove that apparently still worked. This was not the level of technology he'd seen in the village. This was on par with modern facilities. What was going on?

"You're going to have to take that flight suit off so I can dress those wounds" Ariel said around a full mouth. Lee swallowed what he'd been chewing and regarded her. She was in another cupboard, pulling out what looked like clothes, tossed them to him.

"They were my father's" she explained, "Nothing fancy but they're dry and clean" She turned around and started fiddling with the water. Lee unzipped his flight suit and tossed it aside, pulled the brown pants of soft cotton over his legs. They were baggy, made for a much bigger man. He needed a belt. Ariel was banging around in cupboards again, this time pulling out first aid supplies. She crossed the small room to him and nodded at the couch. He was waiting for her to start talking, start explaining what was going on.

"Not until you're fixed up" she said, as if she could feel his anticipation. Lee laid face down on the couch. She rolled up the leg of the pants and Lee felt a warm cloth wiping away the crusted and dripping blood.

"Have you ever heard of a scientist named Zigroy Nimon?" she asked. Lee turned his head so that he could see the fire.

"Yes" he answered, "He was a geneticist. Disappeared a while ago" He'd learned about it in school.

"Yep. A geneticist hell bent on genetically engineering the perfect human beings" Ariel went on as she applied something that stung like hell to his leg, "He'd done all the laboratory experimentation he could and wanted to try it on a fetus"

"Yeah, I remember reading about it. The Medical Ethics council forbade him from doing it. There was a big controversy about it. Didn't he have his title stripped away?"

"When he went ahead and performed failed experiments anyway, yes" she replied. Lee wanted to know where she was going with this. Nimon. Her last name was Nimon. Dr. Nimon disappeared about 30 years ago. She was nowhere near 30.

"He was not happy with…well anything, after that. He disappeared for a while, then reappeared, then disappeared again for good" she continued, "He came here" She had finished with his leg. Lee turned over and sat up. She sat back on her feet and looked up at him.

"He was your father" She nodded, "You're genetically engineered" She nodded again. She was created. Like the Cylons.

"I'm different from the Cylons" she said right away, "I was born, not produced. I share genetic material with both my parents, my father married a woman from the village. Her name was Marie Biddle" Lee didn't know if he could handle this. She was an artificial human. Beautiful, smart, strong Ariel was an artificial human.

"It's not like I chose this, Apollo. I was born this way. I've never used my advantage for anything but to help people. I've wished my whole life that I wasn't who I was, but it doesn't change anything" He looked back at her. She was being sincere. She hadn't chosen for her father to mess with her genetic codes.

"The truth is I could swear up and down that I'm not a Cylon, that all I want to do is help people, but it won't make any difference if you don't believe me" She stopped and looked at him. He looked at her. The scratches on her face, her swollen feet, her ripped dress. It was a lot to take in.

"I believe you"

"Raptor five just came back" Starbuck announced in the briefing room, "They didn't find anything"

"Well, that severely limits our options" Dr. Baltar said. Adama gave him a look from across the room.

"I tend to agree with Dr. Baltar" President Roslin said, "We need supplies and there aren't any in this sector. We need to jump to another sector" Colonel Tigh looked to Adama. There was fading hope in his eyes. To lose another son would break the man. Tigh had known William Adama a long time and he remembered what it had been like when Zack died. Perhaps no one else had noticed the devastation. It had only increased when a short while latter his wife had followed their youngest son. Tigh knew that with the passing of Lee, the Adama line would end. And the Fleet would be out a great leader. And he would have to be in charge.

"We'll give it another 24 hours" he said when the Commander said nothing. Nobody objected.

"She died when I was six"

"Do you remember her?"

"A little. Some people say I look like her" Ariel smiled, just a bit. She had changed into some of her father's old clothes as well and had been forced to find rope to use to keep the pants up. She looked very funny, sitting in front of the fire with her hair unbraided and her father's clothes on. Lee had washed her feet for her, careful to be tender. She didn't cry or show any signs of pain when he'd cleaned the cuts out.

"You look like her?" he asked.

"Well, I certainly don't look anything like my father" she laughed, "He was tall. And I know what you're thinking. If he was going to genetically engineer the perfect human, why not make her tall and lithe and blonde with blue eyes, right?" He was thinking that, actually.

"Dr. Nimon was kind of nuts" she answered, "He wanted to make the perfect human, and he thought part of that was being imperfect. You know, so that people still looked like their family?" She wiggled her eyebrows and sighed.

"He really pushed you, didn't he?" Lee suddenly realized what her childhood must've been like. No playing camp in the backyard with a younger brother, no school yard games or giggles with other little girls.

"Yes, he did. To the edge of my limits. Just to see how far I could go" she replied with a matter of fact tone, but it changed, to something sad and angry, "I was nothing but an experiment to him, he rarely remembered that I was also a little girl with feelings and no mother. All I ever wanted was to make him proud of me, but no matter how fast I ran or long I went without eating, he was never satisfied"

"How long you could go without eating?" Lee repeated, unable to believe what he'd actually heard. Her father would starve her just to see how long she could go without eating? What kind of man would do such a thing to his own daughter?

"Seven days" she told him, "Only a couple days longer than you could. It wasn't enough for him. He'd come back up here and fiddle around, make notes"

"Must've been hard, growing up with a man who was never happy with anything you did" Lee commented, thinking about his own childhood.

"You're father's very proud of you" Ariel said with that look in her eye again. Lee ignored the message of what she said and focused on the words.

"How do you do that?" he asked, his eyes narrowing just a bit. Sometimes he felt that she was looking right through him, seeing more of him than others could. More of him than he could see himself, "How do you hear what I'm thinking?"

"I can't hear what you're thinking, but I can sort of…feel what you're feeling. Dr. Nimon was a firm believer in telepathy. He never got over that I wasn't"

"Telepathic?"

"A mind reader? Yes" Ariel laughed lightly, rubbing her temple. Then the smile faded and she sighed. Apollo glanced at the time on his watch. It was later than the time he'd allotted for rest.

"We need to get going" he said, "We need to get off this planet"

"Off the planet? And go where exactly?" Ariel asked, her brows lifted.

"Back to the Galactica" Lee replied, confused. Of course back to the Galactica.

"Apollo, the Galactica is not up there anymore" Ariel said, "If she were we'd have been able to see the battle at night, Starbuck or someone would have come back for us by now. It's been four days. They're gone"

"No" Lee shook his head, "My father will wait for me" Ariel didn't reply right away. She looked at him. She wanted to say no. She wanted to tell him it couldn't be. He could tell. He could see her now. She opened her mouth.

"All right"


End file.
